Mohammed bin Rashid to honour national achievements that echo Zayed’s spirit

Tuesday, November 06, 2018

Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has given directives to honour UAE national achievements that fall in line with the spirit of late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and his prosperous reign, in conjunction with the UAE National Day celebrations and to mark the Year of Zayed.

The directives by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed shed light on national projects that reflect Zayed’s development march during his life and his approach that has become a characteristic of the United Arab Emirates. The UAE Pioneers Awards will have a special taste this year.

Sheikh Mohammed said, “This year, we celebrate UAE Pioneers differently. We will not focus on characters, but on achievements. We will celebrate projects that have left a mark on the history of the UAE. Projects that would have made the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan proud, whether cultural, social, economic, scientific, or infrastructure.”

Citing remarkable project examples, Sheikh Mohammed mentioned the Louvre, Burj Khalifa, Dubai Metro, the Arab Reading Challenge, Prince of Poets, the Million’s Poet, Khalifa University, American University of Sharjah, the Union Museum, and Hope Mars Probe to name a few.

Encouraging the public to nominate achievements, Sheikh Mohammed said, “Voting will be open for everyone to nominate projects that have enriched the development march of our beloved country. Projects that Zayed would have applauded.”

Under the hashtag #UAE_Pioneers, winning projects will be selected by public voting. The teams who have worked tirelessly to make these projects a reality will be honoured in a national ceremony.

The UAE Pioneers initiative is aimed at promoting the concept of honouring in the Emirati society and achievements, and giving an opportunity to all citizens and residents to nominate people who are pioneers in various fields.

Members of the public can submit their nomination at www.uaepioneers.ae before November 18.

The Awards were the culmination of a social media initiative that was launched with a tweet from Sheikh Mohammed’s Twitter account in November 2014. The hashtag campaign prompted Emiratis to nominate fellow countrymen and women who they believed were pioneers in their respective fields. The social media campaign galvanised the community, with nominations rolling in from all segments of Emirati society. Within two weeks there were more than 137,000 entries, all nominated with the hashtag #UAE_Pioneers.